Publications

In Germany, there is currently a debate in higher education policy on the question of whether and to what extent universities will have to adjust to declining numbers of first-year students. Based on a model of the components of the social demand for education, this article examine how social demand for higher education has developed over the last two decades and what scenarios can be expected in the coming years. One reason for the current decline is the demographic development; however, the birth cohorts from which first-year students come are increasing again. Other influences include the mobility of international students. The decrease is likely to be limited in time and not affecting all universities.

This comparative synthesis report of the EUROGRADUATE 2022 pilot survey provides an analysis on the careers, competences, and citizenship of over 100.000 higher education graduates in 18 EU/EEA countries, covering graduates of the academic years 2020/21 and 2016/17 (one and five years after graduation) on ISCED-2011 levels 6 (Bachelor) and 7 (Master or long degree programs). The project pursues to monitor the educational pathways of graduates, how they evaluate their study experiences, and how this translates into their professional careers and lives as European citizens. The EUROGRADUATE 2022 survey constitutes a significant contribution to the enhancement of the European Education Area.

This publication provides an executive summary of the key findings of the EUROGRADUATE 2022 Comparative Synthesis Report. The EUROGRADUATE 2022 pilot survey provides an analysis on the careers, competences, and citizenship of over 100.000 higher education graduates in 18 EU/EEA countries, covering graduates of the academic years 2020/21 and 2016/17 (one and five years after graduation) on ISCED-2011 levels 6 (Bachelor) and 7 (Master or long degree programs). Monitoring graduate outcomes can improve graduates' integration on the labour market and better address existing and potential skills gaps and mismatches. The EUROGRADUATE 2022 survey constitutes a significant contribution to the enhancement of the European Education Area.

The EUROGRADUATE 2022 Technical Report complements the final comparative report by detailing the project organisation and methodology used; it also provides an assessment of the quality standard achieved in the EUROGRADUATE 2022 survey, as well as a summary of the lessons learned and recommendations for its further sustainability and quality enhancement. The long-term goal of EUROGRADUATE is to establish a source of comprehensive, comparable, and regular data on higher education graduates covering all countries of the European Economic Area (EEA). The EUROGRADUATE 2022 survey constitutes a significant contribution to the enhancement of the European Education Area, not least through its contribution to the recent Union of Skills initiative.

While large and highly societally relevant, the group of doctoral students still plays a subordinate role in the well-being literature. To narrow this research gap, we investigate how their life satisfaction (LS) trajectories developed throughout the Covid-19 pandemic in Germany. We draw on set-point, adaptation, family, and gender theories to examine doctoral students’ LS trajectories before, at the onset of, during, and after the pandemic. Thereby, we consider not only shorter-term but also longer-term consequences of the pandemic.

Der DZHW-Brief 03/25 thematisiert die Adäquanz der Beschäftigung von Hochschulabsolvent*innen des Prüfungsjahrgangs 2021. Zum Befragungszeitpunkt (ca. 1,5 bis 2,5 Jahre nach dem Abschluss) sieht sich die große Mehrheit der Absolvent*innen als adäquat beschäftigt. Die im Studium erworbenen Zertifikate können demnach mehrheitlich auf dem Arbeitsmarkt verwertet werden und das Niveau sowie die Aufgaben der Beschäftigungen sind den Studienabschlüssen entsprechend angemessen. Unterschiede zeigen sich hinsichtlich des Geschlechts, da Frauen mit einem Bachelorabschluss häufiger überqualifiziert beschäftigt sind als Männer mit einem Bachelorabschluss.

This report examines which students in European higher education get to study abroad and what factors influence their opportunities. Drawing from data across 23 European countries, we found that: • Older students (30+ years) are less likely to study abroad • Students from wealthier families have more opportunities to study abroad • Students whose parents went to university are more likely to study abroad • Research universities (those that can award PhDs) send more students abroad • Research universities tend to have fewer older students and more students from privileged backgrounds.

The DZHW-Panel Study of School Leavers 2012 is part of the DZHW-Panel Study of School Leavers survey series, in which standardized multiple surveys are used to collect information on the post-school careers of school leavers with a (school) higher education entrance qualification. As a rule, several survey waves are conducted at different times before and after the acquisition of the higher education entrance qualification for each year group of persons with a university entrance qualification. Accordingly, this is a combined cohort-panel design. The panel 2012 is the 19th cohort of the study series with currently three waves. Full abstract: https://doi.org/10.21249/DZHW:gsl2012:3.0.0

Ageism in universities—meaning unequal treatment based on (older) age—is rarely addressed in higher education research. Yet with increasingly age-diverse student populations, older students may face discrimination for defying chrononormative expectations. Using data from the 2021 German Student Survey (N = 4,811; 300 students aged 30+), this research note identifies six forms of ageism. Logistic regression shows older students more often feel excluded or disregarded, but less often report unwelcome sexual remarks. Findings point to the need for policy action and greater scholarly attention to ageism in higher education.